House of Lords Library: The Queen’s Room (c) Parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament
Coronavirus: Impact on the labour market – “This paper sets out when official statistics which reflect the impact of coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak on the labour market will be released, and summarises timely data from a range of sources which provide an indication of the situation in the meantime.”
Coronavirus and the Economy – “Coronavirus (Covid-19) has had major implications for the UK economy. There have been debates about a number of possible changes to economic policy when the UK enters the recovery phase. These include: possible major reforms to fiscal policy; whether the Government should facilitate the reallocation of jobs and capital away from the hardest hit sectors of the economy; what measures could be taken if the virus exacerbates inequalities…
Which ‘new normal’ after coronavirus? [What Think Tanks are thinking] “This note offers links to recent commentaries and reports from international think tanks on coronavirus and related issues”, and includes changing life-style and working practices, a vaccine, and the impact of the disease on the poorest regions of the world.
Potentially negative effects of internet use. “This report covers less studied but equally important harms: harms associated with internet use that concern the health, well-being a functioning of individuals, and the impact on social structures and institutions. The ultimate aim of the study is to develop concrete policy options to be considered by the EU Institutions and Member States, to mitigate negative effects of the internet for…
The Scottish Parliament is calling for feedback on their new website.
“We’re currently working to improve our website. While the beta version is already available to use, more work will be done before it replaces the current site.
We’re taking a user-centred approach in designing the new website and would welcome your help. We would like to hear from anyone who uses the Scottish Parliament website on a regular basis”
The national effort to tackle the Coronavirus health emergency has resulted in UK ministers being granted some of the broadest legislative powers ever seen in peacetime. This Dashboard produced by the Hansard Society highlights key facts and figures about the Statutory Instruments (SIs) being produced using these powers in the Coronavirus Act 2020 and other Acts of Parliament.
The national effort to tackle the Coronavirus health emergency has resulted in UK ministers being granted some of the broadest legislative powers ever seen in peacetime. This Dashboard produced by the Hansard Society highlights key facts and figures about the Statutory Instruments (SIs) being produced using these powers in the Coronavirus Act 2020 and other Acts of Parliament.
House of Lords Library: The Queen’s Room (c) Parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament
Windrush Compensation Scheme – “The Government has set up a scheme to compensate those affected by the Windrush scandal. This briefing explains the scheme and considers criticisms of it so far.
On 6 May 2020, the House of Lords is due to hold a debate on the Windrush compensation scheme.
In late 2017, the Guardian published a series of articles drawing attention to certain immigration cases. They highlighted the cases of longstanding UK residents who were facing deportation because of difficulties proving their lawful immigration status. Over the following months, continued coverage told stories of individuals who had lost jobs and homes, as well as their access to healthcare and the welfare state, because of these issues. The group affected is…
Don’t forget to subscribe to the Scottish Parliament’s eBulletin for weekly updates on what is happening in the Scottish Parliament.
As well as the daily business included are the SPICe resources for Covid-19, details of the committees calling for views on the impact of Covid-19 on Scotland’s culture and tourism sectors and Equalities and Human Rights It also lists all current consultations
Did you know that the UN Dag Hammarskjold Library offers a digital collection of oral history interviews and transcripts with senior UN officials and diplomats that offer insider views and personal perspectives on the Organization’s work to maintain world peace?
We invite you to explore this collection in the UN Digital Library. You can also access this content by selecting the “Images and Sounds” collection from the UN Digital Library home page:
General view of the Plenary chamber in Brussels – PHS Hemicycle – Plenary session week 46 2014
The Intellectual Property implications of the development of industrial 3D printing. This study analyses “the IP implications of the development of industrial 3D printing and clarify how the existing IP framework brings protection to IP rights holders. The focus is on seven industrial applications of AM: health, aerospace, automotive, consumer goods/electronics, energy, industrial equipment and tooling and construction and building sectors.”
Most likely you are aware that the UN system, in particular the World Health Organization, has been at the forefront of the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is an abundance of information being released everywhere and it can be confusing, misleading or completely erroneous at times. Please take a look at the following resources that may help you navigate this information and also lead you to more substantive materials that your library users/clients may be asking for. Main COVID-19 UN web portalhttps://www.un.org/en/coronavirus
You are welcome to any resources found on these websites and in the research guides listed above. All UN documents are in the public domain and can be freely disseminated. When re-using these resources, kindly give appropriate credit.
If you look at traditional media such as newspapers and magazines just now it often feels like everything is about coronavirus. The National Library of Scotland as you would expect will collect the newspapers, official publications and magazines that appear during the pandemic and when they are published the inevitable books that will chronicle this period.
Just now though we are trying to collect the websites and webpages that document the impact of COVID-19 on Scotland and how the nation has reacted. We are collecting everything from official Scottish Government advice to blogs and social media. This will become a permanent resource on COVID-19 and Scotland as well as the wider United Kingdom that will be available long after the pages we collect have disappeared from the internet.
My colleague Trevor Thomson is one of the team doing this. For the last few weeks and no doubt many weeks to come Trevor has been at home bent over a red hot laptop identifying and capturing hundreds of websites relating to the pandemic. Trevor explains what we have been doing and why below.
By early March 2020 it was apparent that the coronavirus (COVID 19) outbreak was going to affect Scottish society in substantial ways. As with many national events a great deal of material has been produced online that addresses all aspects of the pandemic – the output is vast, but the Library has been striving to collect web based material representative of the coverage and gather it together in one place in the UK Web Archive.
One of the great aspects of collecting online material, of course, is that it is available anywhere there is broadband hooked up to a PC or laptop. It is also a saving grace that the means of collecting and tagging URLs for the web archive is also available online – and access to the software is not restricted to physical presence in a particular institution or building. It is therefore a perfect job for working from home.
The first change the virus caused to our lives in Scotland was the cancellation of sports and theatre as it became clear that large public gatherings were likely to lead to the infection spreading more quickly. If you follow the arc of the collecting you will see we targeted for collection the websites of theatres and other cultural institutions as well as the governing bodies for sport as they began to react to the virus. We then targeted coverage of these cancellations in local and national newspapers and on the news pages of the BBC and STV.
As social isolation, social distancing and the lockdown were introduced the focus of the collecting changed to capture the radical effects of staying at home. Online information issued by local authorities on school closures and other matters as well as by transport providers, places of worship and the reactions and advice issued by the Scottish Government were targeted for collection. A selection of business reaction from employers and advice and support emanating from chambers of commerce was targeted for collection. Volunteers and charities have done admirable work responding to the needs of our most vulnerable citizens and their online presence often in the form of social media has been and will continue to be captured.
The greatest impact of the outbreak has been on the health service treating people who have contracted the virus. We have collected material, information and advice issued online by the NHS and social care partnerships throughout the country. Scotland also has a notable medical research response and this has been reflected in the collecting. More hidden impacts of lockdown such as the strains on families and mental health have also been targeted for collection.
As with most activities at this time it has been a communal activity across the Library. Colleagues with expertise in an area have identified websites and collated lists whilst others have input these selections into the UK Web Archive so they can be collected. By the end of 21st April 2020 2,176 individual URLs have been identified for collection based on their relevance to documenting the COVID-19 outbreak and this work of course continues.
In due course the full results of this project will be presented as a focused collection alongside broader collections on the coronavirus and its impact on the United Kingdom in the UK Web Archive which can be found at http://www.webarchive.org.uk
The national effort to tackle the Coronavirus health emergency has resulted in UK ministers being granted some of the broadest legislative powers ever seen in peacetime. This Dashboard highlights key facts and figures about the Statutory Instruments (SIs) being produced using these powers in the Coronavirus Act 2020 and other Acts of Parliament.
House of Lords Library: The Queen’s Room (c) Parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament
Coronavirus: Policing the instruction to stay at home – “On Monday 23 March the Prime Minister made an address to the nation in which he announced extraordinary measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the UK. This short briefing paper explains the new temporary powers to enforce the instruction to stay at home given by the Prime Minister.”
Coronavirus Act: Food supply – “The Coronavirus Act provides powers to require information about food supply chains. The Government has said that it is collaborating with the food sector to manage the risk of disruption to supply chains, but that the Act provides powers in case requests for voluntary provision of information were not to be complied with in the future.
The House of Commons Library has some briefings and insights around Covid-19. They cover:- legislation information about welfare benefits statutory sick and NI contributions employment rights schools support for business and more. There are 35 research briefings in total through this link but it is likely there will be more in the coming days. All information has been fact-checked and the content updated when needed.
General view of the Plenary chamber in Brussels – PHS Hemicycle – Plenary session week 46 2014
Novel coronavirus outbreak : State of play preparedness and response measures. “Following the extraordinary Council meeting of health ministers on 13 February 2020, this paper summarises the latest available information [20.02.2020] on the novel coronavirus outbreak, and the Union’s preparedness and response actions.”
Artifical Intelligence [What Think Tanks are Thinking]. “This note offers links to recent commentaries, studies and reports from international think tanks on AI and related issues”, such as ethical issues, and health, economical and military benefits.
Study on energy technology dependence. “The overarching objective of this study was to better understand the dependence of the European Union on energy technologies and to specifically consider the impact of this dependence on the security of energy supply in the…
House of Lords Library: The Queen’s Room (c) Parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament 
General view of the Plenary chamber in Brussels – PHS Hemicycle – Plenary session week 46 2014. © European Union 2014 – Source EP 
General view of the Plenary chamber in Brussels – PHS Hemicycle – Plenary session week 46 2014 
General view of the Plenary chamber in Brussels – PHS Hemicycle – Plenary session week 46 2014 